Half of bosses in the district are sceptical about the value of apprenticeships, new findings show.

They coincide with a call today by the Work Foundation for a reform of apprenticeships to better reflect the modern workplace.

The Business Barometer from Close Brothers Asset Finance, reveals that bosses in Yorkshire are split on the merits of apprenticeships, with more than half less inclined to offer on-the-job training.

The quarterly survey of small and medium businesses shows that 45 per cent of employers are concerned about a lack of time to devote to training with 15 per cent put off by the cost and five per cent believe there are not enough suitable candidates.

This is despite evidence from the Centre for Economics and Business Research that says apprenticeship schemes will contribute £3.4 billion a year to the economy over the next decade.

The survey also shows that two in ten employers with apprentices are planning to offer them full-time jobs. Mike Randall, Close Brothers Asset Finance chief executive, said: “There are understandable reasons why some businesses are hesitant to invest their time and money into training an apprentice, as the benefits of apprenticeship schemes are not widely documented.

“However, there is some evidence to suggest that they are worth the investment Apprenticeships can reduce the time and expense of recruiting, while positively contributing to the overall performance of a business by offering an increase in competitiveness, a broadened talent pool and improved productivity.”

Mr Randall said that apprenticeship can help firms facing problems recruiting adequately skilled staff by establishing a better fit between the trainees’ skills and those required by the company.

“Often apprentices are motivated to produce a higher standard of work to meet their assessment targets, and feel a loyalty to the company that hired them because a clear career path is often outlined from the offset. Staff retention rates are usually improved as a result,” he said.

The Work Foundation has called for a fundamental reform of apprenticeships in the UK to replace the current system designed when manufacturing and production were the dominant industries.

It says radical change is needed to provide youngsters with “strong vocational pathways” into the labour market and help tackle the s youth unemployment crisis.

Its says that only six per cent of 16 to 18-year-olds became apprentices in 2011, with recent rises accounted for by over 25s starting training programmes – with 71 per cent of these already employed by the company.

The report says demand for apprenticeships currently outstrips the supply due to a fragmented system of careers advice and guidance and warns that the situation will worsen when the age of compulsory participation in education or training rises to 18 in 2015. Better careers advice is needed and more employers should offer quality places.